1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to locating devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to locating devices for finding misplaced or lost keys, remote controls, wallets, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
The loss of personal items, such as keys, glasses, remote controls, wallets and even the loss of children or pets, is a constant source of frustration and even danger in an emergency situation. Various schemes have been devised for locating objects, etc. which demonstrate limited success by their very design.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,653, issued on Mar. 26, 1985, to Bayer, describes an object finder device which can be mounted on a personal item and responds by an audible signal to a predetermined sound such as hand clapping, whistling, and the like. The effectiveness of this device would necessarily be limited to the range where the designated sound reaches a threshold level.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,307, issued Dec. 10, 1985, to Lienart van Lidt de Jeude, describes a light actuated reminder device for attachment to keys, a wallet or a diary, and the like which would normally be left in a pocket or cabinet where light stimulation is absent. Upon exposure to light for a predetermined time, an alarm within the device sounds. A cover is provided for placement over the device sensor when not in operation. This system is impractical in that a cover could be easily lost. Also, the item could be left at a location with the cover on and then the location for the item could be easily forgotten, resulting in inoperativeness of the system and loss of the item.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,143, issued on Jan. 28, 1997, to Wentz, describes a device for mounting in a location, such as near a television, which selectively signals a plurality of control devices known as beepers upon actuation so as to activate a sound signal from each selected control device so as to disclose their location. This system does not provide for the location of personal items, etc. but only to hand-held remote control devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,677, issued on May 13, 1997, to Staino, Jr. describes a locator system particularly designed for eyeglasses. The eyeglass holder acts as the finding device and signals are transmitted from the holder to a device on the eyeglasses which emits an audible signal upon manual activation of the combination holder and finding device. This system is practically confined to eyeglasses and is not appropriate for use with other personal items which are subject to loss.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,051, issued on Jun. 10, 1997, to Sacca et al., describes a finding device primarily used for the location of a remote control useful in controlling a television. The primary novelty apparent in this description is reduced power consumption of the receiver which activates an audible signaling device. This system is not amenable to finding a variety of discreet personal items. The finder is also subject to being mislaid, thus prejudicing the reliability of the locator system.
U.S. Pat. No.5,673,023, issued Sep. 30, 1997, to Smith, describes a locating system primarily designed for locating remote control units for television, etc. which employs both light signaling and simulated speech sound signaling at the receiver portion which is located on one or the respective remote control units. This system would not be practical for finding small objects such as keys or wallets, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,677,673, issued Oct. 14, 1997, to Kipnis describes a wall-mounted personal item locator unit which has a plurality of labeled buttons which correspond to receiver units mountable on objects subject to loss. Each mountable receiver unit emits a characteristic sound such that upon activation of the item locator unit, the desired object may be found by listening for its sound emission. An alternative system employs a transportable transmitter unit. The transmitter continually transmits an activation signal intermittently upon actuation. The selected receiver unit then sends out a signal back to the transmitter activating a flashing light such as a light-emitting diode (LED). As the user approaches the lost item, the rate of flashing increases. This light emitting mode is used in addition to the sound emitting device on the receiver. This system is of limited usefulness in the wall-mounted embodiment due to necessarily limited range. In the case of the portable locator, the locating device is itself subject to loss, thus compromising the system overall reliability.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,105, issued Oct. 21, 1997, to Hedric describes a locating device for locating household objects by means of matching coded senders and receivers mounted on a rack when not in use. The elements for attachment are coded to respond to a multiplicity of corresponding individual finders. This system suffers from a design having a large number of parts which are subject to loss. The cost of having individual finders with separate circuits results in an unduly expensive locator system. The elements for attachment are relatively large and would not be appropriate for small objects such as key chains and the system would necessarily be limited in range due to the small size of the finders.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,238, issued on Nov. 18, 1997, to Cannon, Jr. et al. describes an object locator system particularly adapted to finding marked documents in a random file in a file cabinet. Means are disclosed for providing the file with either a sound emitting device which is interrogated by a coded finder, or a homing device which responds to a particular coded electronic signal sending device with an audible output which increases in loudness upon approaching the desired file. This system is subject to loss or misplacement of the locator device and the disclosure is restricted to a filing system environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,981, issued on Aug. 17, 1999 to Renney describes an item locator with attachable receiver/transmitter. There is no provision, however, for locating the item locator if it should be misplaced.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a remote control finder solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The present invention relates, generally, to locating devices, and more specifically, the invention is a locating device for finding lost personal items, such as keys, a television/VCR remote control, a pager, a cellular phone or wallet, etc. The remote finder sends a radio signal to a selected one of a plurality of button-shaped receivers that emits an audible beeping noise upon activation by the appropriate radio signal. The receiver attaches to the back of any personal item by a sticker such as adhesive-VELCRO. The remote control transmitter has individually numbered buttons which correspond to the item the user wishes to locate. The remote control transmitter fits into a wall-mounted bracket when not in use. In case the remote control transmitter, itself, is lost, a button located on the mounting bracket sends out a signal which activates the remote control transmitter to emit a beeping sound and so assists in locating the finder.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a finding device which is capable of allowing the user to find lost or mislaid personal items, such as keys, eyeglasses, and the like.
It is another object of the invention to provide a finding device as above which is mountable for easy removal in a wall-mounted bracket.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a finding device as above in which a button-actuated radio sender is located upon said bracket and a corresponding radio receiver is located in the remote finding device which activates an audible beeper sound so as to assist a user in finding the finder when mislaid or lost.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a finding device as above wherein each of the button shaped receivers is attached at the center of a round adhesive-VELCRO patch, the outer circumference of the patch being available to attach the receiver to the personal item subject to loss.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.